Medicine website from Saturday

Dec. 18: The Assam Pharmaceutical Association will soon launch a website which will enable people to access information and pose queries about any medicine available in the market.

The association will launch the website, www.assampharmaceutical.com, as part of its golden jubilee celebrations, beginning Saturday.

The association’s general secretary Prafulla Sarmah said the website would also provide information about any new medicine launched in the market from time to time.

“Answers to the queries will be made available through the website after due consultation with our panel of experts,” he added.

The association will organise a seminar, Health Care and Pharmaceuticals, and a cultural programme at Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok on Saturday.

It will also present the Best Medical Graduate Award to Konkona Mahanta, a resident of the city, who topped the MBBS exam from GMCH in 2011.

The association plans to conduct seminars on various issues relating to pharmaceuticals as well as awareness programmes on healthcare as part of its yearlong celebrations.

“The seminar on healthcare and pharmaceuticals will throw light on how the discovery and development of new medicines have helped in the treatment of several life-threatening diseases, on food supplements and nuetraceuticals available in the market and their effectiveness, and on the ill-effects of self-medication, which at times results in major medical complications,” Sarmah said.

On the availability of spurious drugs in the market, he said, “It is true that many fake manufacturers are involved in producing spurious and substandard medicines. We have appealed to the state government to take stringent action against them and the government has been seizing spurious stocks of medicines and cancelling the licence of such manufacturers. Manufacturers can sell a medicine only after procuring a good manufacturing practice certificate.”